Textile spinning machines

ABSTRACT

In an open end spinning machine fibers are passed to the interior fiber-collecting surface of a spinning rotor via a fiber inlet duct provided in a closure member removably secured over the forwardly facing open end of the spinning rotor, a tail end of spun yarn being continuously withdrawn from the rotor via a yarn delivery duct provided in the closure member. Fibers are fed to the fiber inlet duct by an opening roller which is arranged to the side of the rotor so as not to constitute an obstruction to the ready removal of the closure member from the rotor.

United States Patent 11 1 Greenwood et a1. 1 1 Aug. 7, 1973 [54] TEXTILE SPINNING MACHINES 3,375,649 4/1968 Bures et a1 57/5391 3,511,045 5/1970 Bures et al.... ,1 57/5891 1751 lnventOrSI gr g g i' g g'g i 3,648,450 3/1972 Prochazka 57/5839 ac urn; o n ep er mdey both of England Primary Examiner-John Petrakes [73] Assignee: T.M.M. (Research) Limited, Attorney-Watson, Cole, Grindle 8L Watson Lancashire, England [22] Filed: July 8, 1970 [57] ABSTRACT [21] Appl. No.: 53,248 In an open end spinning machine fibers are passed to g the interior fiber-collecting surface of a spinning rotor [52] U S 57/58 91 57/58 95 57/88 via a fiber inlet duct provided in a closure member re [51] Int Cl iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii nd I12 b 1/24 movably secured over the forwardly facing open end of the spinning rotor, a tail end of spun yarn being contin- [58] Field of Search 57/58 8958 95 88 50 uously withdrawn from the rotor via a yarn delivery R t d duct provided in the closure member. Fibers are fed to [56] e the fiber inlet duct by an opening roller which is ar- UNITEDSTATES PATENTS ranged to the side of the rotor so as not to constitute 3,481,129 12/1969 Shepherd et a1 57/58.89 an obstruction to the ready removal of the closure 3,335,558 8/1967 Doudlebsky et a1 57/5895 member from the rotor. 3,324,642 6/1967 Meimberg et al 57/5895 5 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures 'PATENTEU 3.750.381

sum 1 or 4 PAIEMEW: m 3.750.381

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TEXTILE SPINNING MACHINES The present invention relates to open-end textile spinning machines of the kind in which fibres are taken from a supply by fibre feed means and delivered as discrete fibres for feeding to an interior fibre collecting surface of a spinning rotor arranged for rotation, the fibres being-removed from the fibre collecting surface by twisting them into an end of yarn which is continuously withdrawn from the rotor and taken up on a wind-up device.

An object of the present invention is to provide an open end spinning machine of the kind specified which is compact whilst providing a good path for fibres to the spinning rotor and for yarn from the rotor and which provides ready access to the spinning rotor and the fibre feed means for cleaning and proper maintenance of the machine.

According to the present invention, there is provided an open end spinning machine of the kind specified, wherein said spinning rotor-has a forwardly facing open end closed by a removable closure member through which the'discrete fibres from said fibre feed means are fed to the fibre collecting surface of the rotor through a fibre inlet duct and through which yarn formed in the rotor is withdrawn through a yarn delivery duct, wherein said fibre feed means includes an opening roller mounted at a position not in line with the forwardly facing open end of the rotor for opening fibres taken from the supply and feeding them as discrete fibres to said fibre inlet duct, and wherein the arrangement is such that the closure member can be removed forwardly from the open end of the rotor with no ob-' struction by and with no displacement or substantiall no displacement of said fibre feed means.

One embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. I is a front elevation partly in section of an open-end textile spinning machine according to the invention, with some parts removed for clarity,

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the left-hand side of the machine shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the right-hand side of the machine shown in FIG. 1, partly in section,

FIG. 4 is a section taken on the line IV-IV in FIG. 1 of part of the machine shown in FIG. 1, and

FIG. 5 is a scrap view ofa part of the machine shown in FIG. 4, in an alternative position thereof.

In the drawings, there is illustrated an open-end spinning machine which is particularly suitable for processing long staple fibres. Referring first to FIG. 3, the machine comprises a spinning rotor 11 which is fixedly mounted on one end of a horizontal output shaft 12 of an electric motor 13 and which is fed with fibres through a fibre inlet duct 14 formed as an extension of a cover plate 15 which fits over the open end ofa rotor housing 16 and which is formed with a cylindrical enlargement 17 which enters into the forwardly facing open end of the rotor 11. The cover.plate l5 is provided with a central yarn-delivery duct 18 and the arrangement is such that fibres delivered through the fibre inlet duct 14 pass to an interior fibre collecting surface 19 of the rotor 11 from which they are twisted into the tail end of a yarn 20 which is withdrawn continuously by delivery rollers 21 and 22, from which the yarn passes to apackage forming device (not shown).

Fibres are drawn through the fibre inlet duct 14 and into the rotor 11 in well known manner by the action of suction applied to the interior of the rotor housing 16 through suction duct 23.

Fibres are supplied to the fibre inlet duct 14 by fibre feed means to which a sliver or roving of suitable fibres is continuously fed through a feed trumpet 24. A feed roller 25 which rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow A and which is provided with teeth or spikes 26, picks up fibres from the sliver and carries them round to an opening roller 27 rotating in the direction indicated by the arrow B. The opening roller 27 is provided with pinned bars 28 which pick up the fibres carried round by the feed roller 25 and forward them to a fibre delivery duct 29 formed in an opening roller housing 30 and registering with the fibre inlet duct 14.

The cover plate 15 closing the open end of the rotor 11 is held in the closed position as shown in FIGS. I and 4 by a spring clip 31 and a rotary catch 32 operated by-a handle 33, the arrangement being such that, when the handle 33 is turned from the position shown in FIG. 4 through an angle of to that shown in FIG. 5,the catch 32 turns to a position in which a fiat 34 thereon releases it from engagement by a projection 35 fixed on the rotor housing l6.- In this position of the catch 32, the cover plate 15 can be withdrawn, together with the catch 32 and handle 33, forwardly ofthe machine if at the same time the spring 31 is pulled back to release the other side the cover plate. Rod 49 carries a cross bar 50 which engages in a slot formed in the catch 32. The other end of the rod 49 has fixedly secured thereto a cam 36 which in the position shown in FIG. I holds apart spring loaded arms 37 and 38 of a brake device for brakingthe motor shaft 12 carrying the rotor 11, and the arrangement is such that the handle 33 when turned to release the cover plate 15 turns the cam 36 through an angle of 90 to allow the spring loaded arms 37 and 38 to move together and bring friction pads thereon to bear against a brake drum 89. It will be seen that by the simple operation of turning the handle 33 the spinning rotor 11 is brought to rest and by additionally holding back the spring clip 31 the cover plate 15 may be moved forwardly without obstacle and the interior of the spinning rotor inspected.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, the opening roller 27 is drivably mounted on an output shaft 39 of an electric motor 40 and access to the periphery of the opening roller 27 for inspection and cleaning can be gained by swinging open a front cover plate 41 by means of a handle 42. The front cover plate 41 is fixedly mounted on a rotary shaft 51 and when displaced to the open position causes the angular turning of a cam 43 on the other end of shaft 51 from the position shown in FIG. 2 in which it holds apart a pair of spring loaded brake arms 44 and 45 to a position in which the brake arms come together and cause brake pads 46 and 47 thereon to bear against a brake drum 48 carried on the other end of the motor output shaft 39 and bring the opening roller 27 to rest.

The dispostions of the various parts of the machine are such that the fibres fed in sliver or roving form pass around the feed roller 25 and opening roller 27 in curved paths in a single plane and are taken from the periphery of the opening roller 27 into a straight passage comprising ducts l4 and 29, still lying in the same plane as that of the fibre path around the rollers. The exit of the duct 14 is pointed directly towards the fibre collecting surface 19 of the rotor 11 so that fibres are readily laid thereon. Withdrawal of yarn from the front of the spinning device makes threading easy and gives the operative facilities for inspection of the yarn during processing and the interior of the spinning rotor can readily be inspected when the cover is removed for cleaning. The disposition of the fibre feed elements above the spinning rotor ll reduces or tends to reduce the width of the machine and inspection of the spinning rotor is not obstructed. The package of spun yarn is formed at the front of the machine and the doffing and replacing of full packages by empty bobbins is thus facilitated.

The fibre collecting surface may be provided with needles to assist in retaining the fibres until they are picked up by a rotating end of yarn to be twisted therein in the manner well known in open-end spinning machines.

On and breakage the feed roller is stopped and any fibres remaining in the rotor are sucked away through the suction duct 23. Any fibres trapped between the rotor 11 and the cover plate 15 can be dislodged and sucked away simply by removing or partially removing the cover plate 15.

We claim:

1. An open end spinning machine having a spinning rotor mounted on a shaft and arranged for rotation, the spinning rotor being provided with an open end, and having a fiber collecting surface;

closure means removably locatable over the open end of the spinning rotor;

a rotary catch on the closure means to hold it in a closed position over the open end of the spinning rotor;

rotor braking means operative to brake the spinning rotor and comprising a pair of braking arms continuously spring biased toward a braking position by means of a spring; and

actuating means operative to actuate the rotor braking means in response to rotation of the rotary catch to release the closure means and comprising a cam rotatable by rotation of the rotary catch between a first position in which the cam holds the braking arms in a non-braking position against the action ofthe spring, and a second position in which the braking arms are allowed to move under the action of the spring to apply a braking force to the rotor.

2. A machine as claimed in claim 1 including a rotor housing; and

a removable spring clip in engagement with the closure means and the rotor housing to further maintain the closure means in a closed position.

3. A machine as claimed in claim 2 further comprising fiber feed means including an opening roller arranged to supply a flow of discrete fibers to the fiber collecting surface of the spinning rotor;

21 housing for the opening roller having an open face to provide access to the opening roller;

a cover plate to removably cover the open face of the housing;

an opening roller braking device operative to brake the opening roller; and

means operative to actuate the opening roller braking device when the cover plate of the housing is displaced.

4. A machine as claimed in claim 3 wherein the opening roller braking device comprises a pair of braking arms continuously spring biassed into a brake position by means of a spring, and

wherein the means operative to actuate the opening roller braking device comprises a cam which is rotatable, by displacement of the cover plate, between a first position in which the cam holds the braking arms of the braking device in a nonbraking position against the action of the spring and a second position in which the braking arms of the braking device are allowed to move under the action of the spring to apply a braking force to the opening roller.

5. An open end spinning machine having a spinning rotor provided with a fiber collecting surface and mounted for rotation on a shaft;

fiber feed means including an opening roller arranged to supply a flow of discrete fibers to the fiber collecting surface of the spinning rotor;

a housing for the opening roller having an open face to provide access to the opening roller;

a cover plate to removably cover the open face of the housing;

an opening roller braking device operative to brake the opening roller and comprising a pair of braking arms continuously spring biased into a brake position by means of a spring; and

means operative to actuate the opening roller braking device when the cover plate of the housing is displaced and comprising a cam which is rotatable by displacement of the cover plate between a first position in which the cam holds the braking arms of the opening roller braking device in a nonbraking position against the action of the spring and a second position in which the brake arms of the opening roller braking device are allowed to move under the action of the spring to apply a braking force to the opening roller.

UNITED STATES PA"ENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Inventor(s) Robert Greenwood, et' al It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

-On the title page, please insert-Claims priority, Great Britain 34328, filed July 8, l969-.

1 Signed and sealed this 30th day of July 197A.

(S L) Attest':

Mc COY M. GIBSON, JR. C. MARSHALL DANN Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents PatentNo. 3750381 Dated 8/?[73 ORM DO-1050 U5COMM-DC 60376-P59 9 ,5. GOVERNMENT PR'N'HNG OFFICE: 969 O-JGG-JBI, 

1. An open end spinning machine having a spinning rotor mounted on a shaft and arranged for rotation, the spinning rotor being provided with an open end, and having a fiber collecting surface; closure means removably locatable over the open end of the spinning rotor; a rotary catch on the closure means to hold it in a closed position over the open end of the spinning rotor; rotor braking means operative to brake the spinning rotor and comprising a pair of braking arms continuously spring biased toward a braking position by means of a spring; and actuating means operative to actuate the rotor braking means in response to rotation of the rotary catch to release the closure means and comprising a cam rotatable by rotation of the rotary catch between a first position in which the cam holds the braking arms in a non-braking position against the action of the spring, and a second position in which the braking arms are allowed to move under the action of the spring to apply a braking force to the rotor.
 2. A machine as claimed in claim 1 including a rotor housing; and a removable spring clip in engagement with the closure means and the rotor housing to further maintain the closure means in a closed position.
 3. A machine as claimed in claim 2 further comprising fiber feed means including an opening roller arranged to supply a flow of discrete fibers to the fiber collecting surface of the spinning rotor; a housing for the opening roller having an open face to provide access to the opening roller; a cover plate to removably cover the open face of the housing; an opening roller braking device operative to brake the opening roller; and means operative to actuate the opening roller braking device when the cover plate of the housing is displaced.
 4. A machine as claimed in claim 3 wherein the opening roller braking device comprises a pair of braking arms continuously spring biassed into a brake position by means of a spring, and wherein the means operative to actuate the opening roller braking device comprises a cam which is rotatable, by displacement of the cover plate, between a first position in which the cam holds the braking arms of the braking device in a non-braking position against the action of the spring and a second position in which the braking arms of the braking device are allowed to move under the action of the spring to apply a braking force to the opening roller.
 5. An open end spinning machine having a spinning rotor provided with a fiber collecting surface and mounted for rotation on a shaft; FIBER feed means including an opening roller arranged to supply a flow of discrete fibers to the fiber collecting surface of the spinning rotor; a housing for the opening roller having an open face to provide access to the opening roller; a cover plate to removably cover the open face of the housing; an opening roller braking device operative to brake the opening roller and comprising a pair of braking arms continuously spring biased into a brake position by means of a spring; and means operative to actuate the opening roller braking device when the cover plate of the housing is displaced and comprising a cam which is rotatable by displacement of the cover plate between a first position in which the cam holds the braking arms of the opening roller braking device in a non-braking position against the action of the spring and a second position in which the brake arms of the opening roller braking device are allowed to move under the action of the spring to apply a braking force to the opening roller. 